


Salt-Baked

by Dellessa



Series: More Taters Please! [7]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 08:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7632970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dellessa/pseuds/Dellessa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The month in Halifax had passed by too quickly. Towards the end they had met with a realtor and had looked at several houses, but none had quite fit. Kent had hoped they would find one before the season ended. She had emailed him several more possibilities, but none they were in love with. </p><p><a href="http://omgcheckplease.tumblr.com/post/57705111693">Check Please!</a> (and the characters therein) are the creation of Ngozi Ukazu. Go read it now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Salt-Baked

The month in Halifax had passed by too quickly. Towards the end they had met with a realtor and had looked at several houses, but none had quite fit. Kent had hoped they would find one before the season ended. She had emailed him several more possibilities, but none they were in love with. 

He had gotten used to the cooler weather of Halifax, and finally making it back to Las Vega was weird. Sleeping alone was weird, and waking up alone was easily the hardest of it all.

Spud and Kit took up a good portion of the bed, and glared at him when he shifted. “Come on guys, don’t look at me like that,” he groaned.

Kit made a plaintive mew and jumped off of the bed, but Spud just flopped over and kneaded the air, purring loudly. Kent ruffled his fur and got up, turning his alarm clock off before it went off. 

He went through his morning routine, and tried to quell the butterflies doing the jitterbug in his stomach. He could do this. He had to. He managed to get dressed, feed the cats, and head out the door in time.

Traffic was a nightmare, but he still made it to the rink early. He wasn’t the first one in the locker though. Yardley was already dressed, and Reedy was on his way there. They weren’t the only ones. 

“Hey Cap,” Swoops waved. “We missed you.” 

“Seriously....you saw me a couple weeks ago.” Still Kent was smiling when he got to his locker and started getting ready to go out on the ice. “You miss my pretty face that much?” 

Swoops put his hand to his heart, and said with sincerity, “Always, Cap.” 

Kent rolled his eyes. “Yeah, better than looking at Tex, right.” 

“Wow, Cap. I’m wounded, brah. Really wounded. I’m gorgeous.”

“Thanks for getting him going,” Yardley chirped. He ruffled Kent’s hair, “But really...how are you doing?” 

“Honestly? I’ve been better.” Kent shrugged. 

“Yeah, I can imagine. Long distance is hard,” Yardley said and patted Kent’s shoulder awkwardly. 

Kent shrugged. “Let’s go.” 

They head out onto the ice, running through the drills the coach had planned out. Despite the chaos in his mind his footwork was clean, and the puck went where he wanted it to go. It was like falling back into an old routine, the only thing off about it was not having Alexei there chirping at him. He had gotten far too used to that in the month that they had spent at the cabin. 

Eventually they stood back, watching the rookies go through a passing drill. Too many new faces. Normally Kent would have been there through their first practice, taking them under his wings so to speak. It didn’t roll out that way this year, not with the fiasco that happened right after the play-offs.

Jameison elbowed him, “What do you think, Cap?” 

“We’ll see. I wish I had been there for the camp. You know this isn’t normally how I operate.” 

“We all know, and you know we all have your back. We’ll get the rookies in shape. It’s going to be a good season, I can feel it.” 

“Ugh, don’t talk like that, you’re gonna jinx us,” Kent grumbled. 

“I doubt it. We’re gonna kill it,” Jameison said, and threw his arm around Kent’s shoulder. “Gonna kill it, Cap.” He hip checked him and skated off backwards, stepping into the fray. 

Kent was ready to go home and take a nap once morning skate was over. He’d already talked to the training team about missing the optional skate. It was not something he normally did, but he knew Alexei would be doing the same in Providence, or nearly the same thing. Alexei had mentioned something about off-ice training that day. 

He had not been able to quite escape to lunch right away, since he had to stop by and talk to Allison, and the team owners. That had gone as well as he had hoped it would. 

“You can’t keep pulling these stunts,” Allison had said, in that cool tone of his, the one where he knew she was pissed. He couldn't blame her, not really. They had told him not to tweet, and he had. He had posted about the engagement before giving them a heads up. He wasn’t sure what the hell else she thought he was going to do. 

“Don’t run off and elope, okay. Let us know what your plans are so we can get things together on our end. This is going to be a delicate thing, Kent. I mean it,” Allison said. 

“You are treading dangerous ground, son,” Warren Cooper said. Kent could feel disapproval seeping off of him, but that was nothing new. He hated dealing with the man, and as much as he loved the team, his boys...well it did make leaving when his contract was up a very real consideration. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t been living up to your expectations, sir, but I’m not going to pretend to be someone I’m not, not anymore. I think we’ve come a bit too far for that,” Kent said as blandly as he could manage. The man did not like him, never had, and after this last incident he had a feeling he would have been traded off if not for the clause in his contract. One more season. He kept telling himself that. The meeting did not last long after that to Kent’s relief. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, he could do this.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

He opened up Skype nearly the moment that he got home, and sighed with relief when he noticed that Alexei was available. 

[14:55:05] Parse: You free for a call?   
[14:55:15] Tater: Just got in. Call me.  
[14:55:28] Parse: (♥ω♥*)  
[14:56:37] Tater: =) 

Kent waited for the call to connect feeling more nervous than he had felt in months, then Alexei was smiling back at him on the screen, and he he was able to breath again. “Hey babe, how did practice go.” 

Alexei shrugged. “As expected, Котенок. Not bad. Glad we kept up with training at cabin. Could have been a disaster.” 

“Yeah, I guess so. Uh...did they take you aside and---talk about the thing?” Kent squirmed in his chair. He hated this. After a month of having Alexei constantly close at hand, it left him bereft, as if his touchstone had been taken from him. 

“Kenny, what thing you are meaning?” 

“The ring thing,” Kent mumbled.

“I’m not sure what thing you are meaning,” Alexei shrugged. “Be more specific.” 

“Stop chirping me. Did they ask you about our engagement?” 

“They did, Kenny. PR department is drawing up plans, will contact your PR department. This will be fine. Don’t worry,” Alexei murmured. “Is fine, Kenny.” 

“No, it’s not. They are really unhappy with me. I mean I expected that, but they are just...I’m worried.” 

“You want me to fly out?” 

“I should say no, but I really miss you already. What’s wrong with me, Alyosha?” Kent gulped in a deep breath. It was just too much. 

“Котенок, no, no. You are fine. О, моя дорогая, Моя любовь, Всё будет хорошо. Shhhh...just breathe, Котенок.” 

Kent breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, concentrating on each breath until it felt like he was struggling for each breath, it seemed to take forever. Alexei talked him through it, the murmur of Russian in the background soothed Kent’s nerves far more than it should have. 

“You’re right. It’ll work itself out. I guess. They do want to know what our plans are, so...I guess we should figure that out...right?” He made a mental note to talk to the team doctor to get a referral. He had never been prone to panic attacks, but he had seen enough of Jack’s to know what this was.

“We do, Котенок. Will be fine. Jack gave us list of wedding planners. We go over and pick one. Something small, I think. Respectable.” 

“Yeah, they said no eloping. It would reflect badly on the team,” Kent said sourly. He hated being told what to do. The necessity to keep himself in the closet had never set well, as much as he had feared the alternative. “I just don’t want something big. Just family, and friends.” 

“What I want as well, Kenny. We will make this work.” 

Kent ducked his head. “I know. We will. We’re awesome.” He managed to give Alexei a smile. “I---do love you.” He shrugged, looking faintly uncomfortable. “A lot. God, I’m lame.” 

“Nyet, Котенок. You are perfect, beautiful, and my Лучик.”

“Wow, Xi. Don’t put me on a pedestal of anything.”   
“I am not, I know your many flaws,” Alexei said, his eyes crinkling at the edges with amusement. 

“I think that is even worse,” Kent said, and sighed dramatically. “How the fuck do you always know what to say to calm me down? Really? God I wish we had met sooner. I just...fuck I love you so much.” 

“Love you too, Котенок. You know...this will work out. Don’t let yourself get stressed. We’ve got this. Promise. And I will come to Vegas this weekend.” 

“I’m glad you are so optimistic,” Kent said. His eye closed tight for a moment. 

“You doubt?” 

“No, no---I’m just---I’m just saying this wrong. Fuck. I just usually fuck these things up. I’m glad you have faith in me. I’m really good at hockey, Xi...but not relationships. I just fuck them up.” 

Alexei squinted at him through the screen, “You had one bad experience?” 

“Isn’t that enough?”

“If it had worked out I would not have you. Would Zimbonni have been happy?” 

Kent worried at his lip, “Fuck. Probably not. We were better as friend. We just---were pretty toxic.” He looked down. “Not about him though. It’s over. And I’m not worried about it anymore. Really I’m fucking not. I’m worried that I’m not---good enough. I guess. Lame. I know. I’m awesome. But----” he shrugged. “I shouldn't be this fucking insecure.” 

“Probably not, Котенок. Probably not.” 

“I’m a mess.” 

“It will get better, Котенок. Give it time.” 

“You keep saying that,” Kent said, and ran a hand through his hair making it go every which way. 

“If say enough you believe. Really Kenny, career is important, by you are my priority. Now, tell me the good parts of the day. We start with that.” 

“Well, Spud and Kit were glad to see me when I got in last night. I took so many pictures of them,” Kent began. 

“I saw, very cute. I miss them.”   
“Well, our furbabies miss you. I think they were glad to see the last of Jennifer. Neither enjoyed the flight, but you know Kit doesn’t travel well. Mmmm....what else...well Yardley left me dinner. A couple days. You know he house sits sometimes. Or Apartment sits. Whatever. It was pretty good. He makes a really good beef roast. So I ended up staying in after I talked to you yesterday. I was so tired, Xi. Just ended up curling up on the couch with Kit and spud and watched the History Channel all night.” 

“You fall asleep on couch again?” 

Kent smiled, and poked a finger at the screen. “No. I managed to crawl into bed. It was horribly empty without you.” 

“Happy things, Котенок.” 

“Yes, Alyosha. Oh...and...I was looking into taking some lessons in Russian. There is an online class at the university here. I also looked into a tutor in the area. I know you can help, but this might just help.” 

Alexei’s grin brightened enough to blind a person. “Kenny! So thoughtful.” 

Kent’s cheeks flushed red. “I just want to understand you.” 

The smile he got in return was even better.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to ask me questions at [Dellessanna](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dellessanna) on tumblr.


End file.
